


Small Reminders

by NullanyThorm



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Volume 6 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17733425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullanyThorm/pseuds/NullanyThorm
Summary: After arriving at Argus, Ruby and Oscar decide to take some time to themselves. They take a friendly outing into the city, hoping to relax before visiting the Atlas military base. They soon learn, though, that when the fate of the world is at stake, one can tend to forget the small things in life.Like the fact that their arrival date happened to be on Valentine's day.





	Small Reminders

**Author's Note:**

> A bit early, but happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I wanted to do a special little Rosegarden one shot for the holiday. You know, since it's kind of my OTP. I hope you guys enjoy it! It's a bit awkward, but that's what I find so adorable about these two.~

A pair of children, sharing a small stature and a large destiny, walked together through the streets of Argus. After spending so much time in the center of attention from the battle at Haven Academy onward, the duo was glad to just fade into the crowd for a change. It was a brief window of time, but they’d take as much of it as they needed to just be children. 

Though, it proved to be difficult with the huge Atlas base looming in the distance. The thing seemed able to be seen no matter where in the city you were. While it meant they wouldn’t be lost on the way to visit its commanding officer later, it was vexing when trying to put it out of their minds. 

“Are you sure it’ll be okay? Visiting the base, I mean. It didn’t seem to go well for the others...”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Oscar,” the red-hooded girl beside him responded, “After all, the others didn’t have the Schnee Card. Though I hope we don’t have to use it, for Weiss’ sake...”

“Yeah...”

The duo couldn’t help looking toward the base they were trying to avoid. If things went well, this time tomorrow they’d be on their way to Atlas. If not, well… Who knew? Neither of them would really like to think of the negative aspects of things, especially after what they’d been through so far. Atlas still felt so far away. 

“Oooh, look!”

Ruby’s cheerful voice snapped Oscar out of his own thoughts, and he saw her pointing towards a small shop nearby. A bakery, it seemed, currently full of patrons. The small farmhand allowed the huntress-in-training accompanying him to drag him along. It was impossible for him to keep up with her. So, even if she was dragging him, he didn’t mind if it meant they could keep an even pace. 

“Let’s see if they have cookies! Maybe we can get something warm to drink, too!”

He couldn’t help smiling back at her. Her cheer was infectious, even if it was over something as simple as getting cookies. What was with her obsession with cookies, anyway? 

“Is it just me...” he observed as he glanced around the crowd, “... or are there a lot of couples out today?”

“Yeah, there are… huh. Weird.”

Oscar suddenly found himself feeling insecure as they walked into the bakery. His eyes darted to the other pairs who were flocking to the small bakery and cafe they wandered into. No one was paying them much attention, but he couldn't help making eye contact with the floor. 

They found their way to the line, Ruby bouncing happily and paying no mind to the “this is a date spot” atmosphere the small shop was exuding. 

“Welcome!” The young man at the register greeted them, as enthusiastically as most shopkeepers tended to do. “What are you looking for? As far as the Valentine's Day specials we have for couples —”

“W-we're not a couple…” Oscar managed to putter out a bit nervously. His eyes glanced discreetly toward Ruby, who was keeping her composure (though he swore her cheeks seemed a bit rosier than usual).

“Honestly didn't even  _ realize  _ it was Valentine's.”

Well, considering everything they'd been through so far… none of them probably noticed the date they'd arrived. The duo both had rather sheepish smiles as the cashier amended his statement. 

“My apologies. We do have some other Valentine's specials, though.” He motioned towards a chalkboard with a list of menu items on the counter. “Anything that interests you two?”

“Hm… What do you think Oscar?”

“Huh? Oh… I just imagined a plate of cookies to share, and maybe a hot chocolate, or something.”

Ruby paused a moment, seemingly amused by his choice of hot chocolate for some reason. After that moment, though, she nodded to herself. 

“Alright then! A large order of Berry Beloved cookies and two medium Mellow Mint hot chocolates, for here, then.”

They were given their total, Ruby paid, and the pair went to find a table. There was a nervous silence between the two of them as they caught the eyes of other pairs in the cafe. 

“Do you suppose it looks like we're a couple to them?”

Ruby had seemed so oblivious to the atmosphere since they walked in, her question caught Oscar off guard. He wasn't really sure what to say, so he let his mind wander for a moment. A few of the older, more mature-looking couples were definitely smiling in their direction. They were those “ah, young love” kind of looks and it made Oscar even more nervous.

“I mean… since it's Valentine's and everything, probably,” was the answer he finally settled on.

“You know… wasn't miss Calavera snickering behind us when we left?”

“You think she knew?”

“I don't know! Probably. If any of us were paying attention to the dates it will have been her.”

The silence returned. Rather than awkward and embarrassed, however, it was more disgruntled. They'd both apparently decided their conclusion was correct. 

At least they wouldn't have time to dwell on the topic. Before long, Ruby's eyes were going wide as dinner plates when a monstrous plate of shortbread cookies was brought out to them. The cookies had various chopped berries mixed into the batter, and decorative icing in different Valentine's themed designs. Along with them were two deep red mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream and peppermint shavings in a heart shape on top. 

“It looks so good!”

And so any thoughts of the holiday seemed to leave her mind. Well, he couldn't say he didn't expect that. Onc food was involved, that was what Ruby’s mind would always be on. So long as they weren’t in the middle of a battle, anyway. Either way, the fact was that Ruby was now more focused on happily eating cookies. 

At first, there wasn’t much conversation between the two of them. Ruby was too focused on  _ inhaling _ cookies, while Oscar was tepidly drinking his hot cocoa as he took in the shop. At Ruby’s urging, he started snacking on the cookies just as meekly. After a while, though, they managed to put the ‘date’ atmosphere out of their minds and just enjoy some time to themselves. 

“Well… We should probably head back now.”

As they finished from their eating, Ruby rose from her seat. Having paid before they took their seats, the two could leave right away without any concern. Oscar lagged behind Ruby a bit, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“We’ll be going to the base with the others once we get back?”

“Yep, and  _ hopefully _ from there to Atlas.”

“You know things never go that easily for us, right Ruby?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to be positive.”

_ ~*~*~* Late that Night*~*~*~ _

The day had been a roller coaster. An incredibly frightening morning, followed by their arrival in Argus. Some fun moments, including a not-really-kinda-sorta-date-outing-thing with Oscar. Was it a date? Probably not. They didn’t even realize it was Valentine’s. Either way, after that it was the refusal to go to Atlas, emotional outburst from the remainder of team JNPR after informing them of what they missed, and Oscar’s sudden disappearance. 

Boy, was she happy he was back. She about had a heart attack when she heard from Yang and Blake that he’d run off. 

After celebrating Oscar’s return, having a meal together, they made plans on what to do next. From there, it was basically time for bed. 

“Hey… Ruby?”

Or… would be if Oscar’s voice from behind her hadn't caught her attention. She turned, seeing the young farmhand shifting a bit sheepishly — a sight that wasn’t too uncommon. She smiled toward him to calm his nerves, glad to see him smile back at her. 

“Did you want something, Oscar?”

“Yeah…. Um… Can we talk?”

“Of course! Want to go out back for a bit?”

She walked with him out to the yard at the back of Saphron and Terra’s house. They sat on the deck, and Ruby watched as Oscar seemed to fiddle with something in his pocket. 

“So… Big mission ahead of us tomorrow, huh?”

Oscar's voice broke the silence after some time had passed. He seemed unable to make eye contact…. And Ruby couldn't help but wonder if it was just his usual nerves or something else. He'd seemed pretty confident earlier — a stark change from his usual demeanor. 

Well, that demeanor was back now, with a vengeance it seemed. It was kind of cute. 

“Yup. You nervous?”

“I mean, yeah… It's kind of a crazy plan…”

“That's Jaune for you. His crazy plans seem to work, though.”

The duo shared an easygoing laugh. Honestly, Ruby was glad they'd had this moment. She kind of needed it. There were still pleasant surprises in store for her that evening, though.

“Hey… Ruby?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. I mean…” Oscar paused for a moment after suddenly thanking her. Unable to respond, she just allowed him to continue. “You’ve always been supporting me. More than the others.so… thanks.”

“Huh? Oh, that's nothing!” She smiled, honestly not considering it worthy of thanks. “You're my friend, after all.”

“Right, but it means a lot…” he responded “ so, while I was out earlier… I took some time to think about a lot of things.”

He pulled the mysterious object out of his pocket, but Ruby still couldn't see it. She tried to crane her neck to get a look at it, but she just couldn't get a good look. 

“So… I guess it's because we're the younger kids here. Just…” He was searching for words. Ruby could tell by the look on his face. This kind of lost, curious puppy look. “Being around you is really comforting. I wanted to thank you for being my friend, so… I got you something!”

Ruby watched as he finally brought the object into view. A box — meant for jewelry, but too big for it to be a ring box (thank goodness. That'd be awkward). She took the box from him, a bit bemused. He had a sheepish smile and seemed eager for her to open it. 

So, she did just that. 

Inside the box was a necklace. A beautiful one on a silver chain, with a rose made from cut ruby. Absolutely stunned, she cast her bewildered gaze on the farmhand beside her.

“Oscar, this is… wasn't it expensive? You got new clothes, too!”

Oscar made some flailing hand motions. He quickly shook his head with a frantic 'no!’. 

“I mean… by jewelry standards… it was actually cheaper than I thought it would be… maybe I shouldn't say that since it's a gift?”

Ruby couldn't help bursting into giggles. It seemed Oscar was thoroughly confused, but she couldn't help it. He was just… so earnest. Giving her a present like this just as a thank you?

She smiled, slipping the necklace on. The act seemed to reassure Oscar, as she turned the ruby around her fingers.

“It's beautiful,” she responded happily. She decided to tease him a bit, a glimmer of mischief entering her silver eyes. “Though… I have to question if it's really just a friendly gift, considering we found out the hard way that it's Valentine's.”

And so. His face was as bright as a tomato, now. She burst into even more laughter, wiping the tears that resulted.

“I…. It's not…!” He wasn't making eye contact, probably out of embarrassment. “It's just that I wanted to let you know how thankful I am for  _ everything _ before… I'm not me anymore.”

“Hey, now,” Ruby interjected before he could say anything else. She placed her hand on his, giving it a light squeeze. “I told you after the train crashed. You're your own person. I don't care what uncle Qrow said. I don't care about Jinn's vision. You're you. Oscar. And I'll always be here for you.”

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them after that. It was like everything they wanted to say didn't even need to be said.

Then, Ruby amazed even herself when she leaned in to kiss the freckle-faced farmer on the cheek. 

“Um… thanks for the present. Happy Valentine's Day, Oscar.”

She got up after that, waving and quickly re-entering the house. As she went into the room she was borrowing with her team, she was in a bit of a daze. She would be the rest of the night… and Oscar would be mirroring her reaction, as well.


End file.
